December 16, 2007

Dear Friend of Gerber/Hart Library:

In the summer of 2006, Wei Wei, one of our volunteers, asked us to donate books to a fledging gay youth center in his hometown of Chengdu, China. He had just received his doctorate from Loyola, and was preparing to return to China to teach. On the last day of our June book sale, Wei Wei came in and scooped up what he described as "a great selection of gay classics." He sent the books to China, and later in the year we received a gracious note from the coordinator of the youth center. Here's what he said:

[We] were delighted by the books you sent us.... We are very consciously cultivating a democratic environment, for the young people to learn democratic governance, project management, and leadership. They are our future, and the future of GLBT civil society in China depends on them.

I'm overwhelmed when I reflect upon his words. Books from Gerber/Hart Library are helping to transform Chinese society and build an LGBT community half-way around the world!

Earlier this year we were again asked to donate books, this time to a lesbian library and archives in Slovenia. We sent 53 books to a region of Europe that is not a hotbed of LGBT activism. Here is the response we received from the head librarian:

We would like to express our deepest gratitude for this generous gesture. This contribution was of greatest importance for us and for all our members. We managed to create the most comprehensive collection of LGBTQ literature in the region...a big THANK YOU!

In both of these cases, the hunger for information is palpable. And the desire to create a permanent institution to make life better for LGBT people is undeniable.

A permanent institution dedicated to making life better for LGBT people—that's the mission of Gerber/Hart Library in a nutshell. We have done so, for over a quarter-century here in Chicago, and now we find ourselves in the welcome position of being able to lend a hand to groups from across the globe.

Closer to home, this year we began assisting Chicago Books to Women in Prison. This group provides paperback books to incarcerated women throughout the country free of charge. In a letter thanking us for our donations, CBWP noted that "education is one of the most reliable ways to bring about concrete social change."

The examples I've cited are wonderful testimonials to the ability of Gerber/Hart Library to do good in this world. But the written word has the most power when it resonates deep within the human heart. In June I met a young man who enthusiastically told me he had visited Gerber/Hart Library before. In a subsequent email, here is what he wrote:

I don't know if I can clearly express what it means to me to have access to a library. I was married to a woman, and we were getting separated. I made the decision that this was my time to be true to myself as a gay male. And one of the first places I turned which was sane and reaffirming was the library. I had some place to go which was truly healthy. Then I went to my first book sale, and I bought a lot of books only knowing some of the classics. But the ones I knew I was able to find.... So, I will always be grateful to the library for the role it played in my "Becoming a Man."

From the global LGBT community to the coming out of one young individual, Gerber/Hart Library has had a profoundly positive effect on so many lives. If you are inspired by these testimonials, then I ask you to make a gift to Gerber/Hart during this holiday season. Your donation will ensure that our good works—both here at home and abroad—are multiplied many times over. Your generosity will help alleviate the loneliness of one person and build the community that so many are striving to create.

Libraries change lives. I'm absolutely certain of it!

Very truly yours,

Karen C. Sendziak
President, Board of Directors

P.S. You can make a donation to Gerber/Hart Library online. It's never been easier to support the Midwest's leading LGBT achives, library, and cultural center